Back Again, Bitches
by emmareden
Summary: The way I really wanted the BadBishop reveal to go. spoiler: Charlotte Dilaurentis returns for her dolls.
1. Chapter 1

Mona. Bad bishop. Charlotte.

_BadBishop: So how about a real life game?_

Mona hesitated. They'd been at this a while now and naturally, Mona had thought about it. About who this person was. She wouldn't admit it but she'd done all searches she could think of of the name – BadBishop. She couldn't even find a reference point. She'd stopped herself at tracking the IP address. She _had_ learnt some restraint since she was a teenager.

_Sure, let's do it._

Mona placed the chess piece on the table. She took a sip of her coffee before she ran her hands through her hair and looked around. It was late and the diner was on the outskirts of town. It was quiet. She checked her phone and pulled her book out of her bag. And waited…

"Did you miss me?"

Mona felt her body tense. She slowly looked up from her book before it fell from her fingertips.

"You… this isn't possible," Mona felt her heart thumping hard against her ribs, "I killed you myself."

Charlotte Dilaurentis smirked, "You know nobody stays dead in Rosewood… You fled the scene too soon."

"But you… you're… "

Charlotte sighed impatiently, "You think some piece of metal could stop me? Really? Sure, the fall hurt like hell and broke a few bones but luckily the good doctor was nearby."

"I saw your body," Mona said, still barely able to comprehend the scene unfolding before her.

Charlotte shrugged, "You saw Hanna's once too. Hanging in that same church, in fact."

Mona shook her head, "You've been BadBishop this whole time?"

"Of course. You really think anyone else could keep up with our game?" Charlotte's eyes glinted as she laughed, "Don't look so surprised, Mona. How many people have we seen come back from the dead? It might not be Rosewood but it's still - "

"Is it you? Are you blackmailing those kids – "

"Oh, come on," Charlotte scoffed, "That Hotchkiss crap? Totally amateur."

Mona surveyed the other woman for a moment before deciding to let that issue rest. She believed the older woman. She wasn't here for some random kids. It was something bigger. She looked around the diner nervously.

Charlotte sat down and lent back in the booth casually, "Thanks for bringing Ali here by the way. Being halfway across the country has made things so much easier. Nobody knows me here, I could finally come out of hiding."

"She knows everything now. Your bullshit lies. Your fake love. She's – "

"You've grown soft, Mona," Charlotte drawled, rolling her eyes, "It was Alison that started all this and now you've fallen at her feet just like everybody else. Never thought I'd see the day you'd forgive her for everything she did. For everything she made you feel. I thought maybe you had game when I saw you in Paris, it was a pretty cool set up but security was lax…" Charlotte grinned, waiting for Mona to catch on, "Alex says hi by the way."

Mona remembered the way she had frozen on the stairs as the glass crackled beneath her feet. She'd known instantly something had happened. Something bad. She'd checked the whole building but the only traces of her prisoners were glass and broken teacups. The resentment returned with a ferocity.

"Well, at least you've got one sister that loves you," Mona said sourly, "And I guess mom 2.0."

Something flashed behind the bravado in Charlotte's eyes. It was only for a split second… but that was all it took for Mona to recognise that she'd found the blonde's nerve.

"Though I wonder how your mommy would feel knowing you were consorting with her murderer," Mona continued as she lent in close, a smirk creeping onto her lips.

Any hint of a smile vanished from Charlotte's face as she lent in, glaring at the woman before her, "Don't test me, Mona. I made you my doll once and you know I can do it again," she sighed and put the mask back on, shaking her head and plastering on a grin, "Mary's sweet. So eager to be the perfect mom. She'd really do anything for her long lost daughters," she flicked her gaze down to the coffee in front of Mona before meeting her eyes, a new smirk on her face as she looked at something behind Mona.

Mona turned away to see Mary in a waitress uniform. She waved.

Mona's heart thumped harder as she felt her head swimming as she turned back to Charlotte, "You're never going to get away – "

Charlotte chortled, "Of course I am. Dead girls can't commit crimes," she winked.

"Ali will – "

"You really think _you _were my first visit?" Charlotte rolled her eyes, "Don't worry. You'll have company."

Mona could feel her muscles seizing up, she looked around the now-empty diner and tried to push herself out of the booth, swaying on her feet.

"You don't look too well," Charlotte chuckled as she pulled Mona's arm around her shoulder and supported her, "Let me help you, doll."

"Did you miss me?"

"I killed you myself."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**4 HOURS EARLIER**

Alison balanced a shopping bag on her hip as she unlocked her front door. She dropped the bag on the bench before switching the light on. She begun unloading her groceries, pausing only to uncork her bottle of wine and pour herself a glass.

"Got another glass?"

Alison spun around and felt the glass of wine slip out of her fingers. It shattered on the tiles, surrounded by red wine.

"Don't be so dramatic, Ali," Charlotte rolled her eyes.

"You're not real," Alison said shakily, taking a step backwards.

Charlotte sighed, "Of course I'm not. I'm a ghost. A twin. Maybe a really good, creepy mask of your dead sister," she smirked and held out her arms to her sides, "Sorry, sis. No strings. The trick was in the death not in the resurrection."

"I don't understand," Alison shook her head.

"Oh come on, you were dead once too," Charlotte grinned.

"How… you've been alive this whole time? The board game…"

Charlotte beamed proudly, "That was a good one, huh? I don't know about you but I really enjoyed playing that one."

Alison looked towards her front door before looking back to her sister, "What do you want, Charlotte?"

"That's not the nicest way to greet your long lost dead sister," Charlotte pouted, "I just want to bond, baby sister."

"Well, I'm really not in the mood for any more of your games," Alison took a step backwards, casting a look towards the door again.

"It's already been locked," Charlotte nodded at the door, "from the outside."

Alison swallowed tightly, looking back at her sister, "I tried to help you. I spent five years visiting you every single day… I grieved for you. I cared."

"I thought so," Charlotte nodded, "but then you let her get away with it."

Alison frowned, "Let who… you mean Mona?"

"Of course I mean Mona," Charlotte said coldly, "You thought she killed me. She confessed to you all. Now Hanna, I get, they were friends, whatever but you… You were meant to care. To love me. And you let her just walk away."

"It's not that simple – "

"Not only that," Charlotte said loudly, "Now you're here with her. Halfway across the country. And all of a sudden the bully and the loser are best friends? Gotta say, that hurts, Ali."

Alison scoffed, "Yeah, well… things between you and I changed after you… died," she surveyed the woman before her, still almost expecting to wake up from this scene at some point, "More of your lies, your masks. I don't even know who you are. Other than a liar. A manipulator."

"Takes one to know one," Charlotte laughed, "Maybe I'm just complex. I am a Dilaurentis after all."

"You sure about that?" Alison sniped back, "I thought you knew everything."

Charlotte bounced her eyebrows with a knowing smile, "Look, Mary's sweet… but mom raised me. She'll always be my mom and that means I'll always be a Dilaurentis. I'll always be your big sister, Alison. No escaping," she winked.

Alison just stared, trying to figure out the woman before her. Every time she thought she sensed something genuine she was reminded of every lie, of every scheme, of everything she had found out since Charlotte's reveal and then again, since her death.

"We found this lair at Aunt Carol's… made it look like mom knew I was alive… "

Charlotte nodded, "She knew," she confirmed, "It was a pity… she was looking, I was looking, we just weren't looking together. Not for a long time anyway."

Alison studied the other woman's face, searching for the grains of truth, "If mom was looking for me, it meant she wanted me alive. She cared. She wouldn't want me hurt," she looked at her sister evenly, "So, if you really did love mom – "

"I'm not here to hurt you, Ali. Jeez. We are family, remember?" Charlotte rolled her eyes.

"What do you want, Charlotte?"

Charlotte smiled sadly, "I just want a second chance."

Then she moved quickly.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Charlotte, let me out of here."

Charlotte smiled, "Now why would I do that? This is what it's all been about Ali," she looked at her sister through the glass, trapped in a room that was a direct duplication of her teenage bedroom, "It's all I ever wanted."

Alison stepped up to the glass, "Charlotte, please. Mum wouldn't want this, you know she wouldn't."

"What mum wanted wasn't always what was best for our family," Charlotte answered, "Anyway, I've taken care of the mom problem."

Alison frowned, "What do you mean you've taken care of…"

Charlotte grinned, "You are seriously in for a ride, Ali. Wait for it."

* * *

"When I press the button, it's going to buzz. Go through the door."

"Please – "

"Just do it," Charlotte slammed her hand into a button, still watching safely from behind the glass and walking into view of the next room; Alison's bedroom. The door opened.

Alison looked up at the sound of the door. She stared for a moment.

"Mary… "

Of course it was Mary. She'd dyed her hair, put on Jessica's clothes, her jewellery. She looked ruffled.

"Don't call her that," Charlotte said sharply, "It's our mom, Ali. She's back."

Alison looked at Charlotte unbelievingly, shaking her head, "Don't do this, Charlie," she glanced back at her aunt before addressing her sister, "She is not our mom."

"Alison, do not test me," Charlotte crossed her arms, "Just play by the rules and everyone will be just fine."

"You need help. Real help," Alison pleaded, "I'll support you, Charlotte. Please – "

"Oh, stop," Charlotte rolled her eyes, "I've got everything I need right here. Well, almost," she looked at Mary, "Mom, you're on my side, aren't you? You know all I ever wanted was to be with my family."

"Yes," Mary nodded edgily, "Yes. Ali, we're all together now. You should be nice to your older sister. It's, it's taken a lot for us all to get here."

"Mary, you don't have to – "

Alison felt a sharp pain ricochet through her body as she fell to the floor. Mary rushed to her side.

Charlotte put the remote in her hand down, "I don't want to have to do that again, Alison."

"What the hell did you do?" Alison sat up shaking and trying to catch her breath.

"Chipped you," Charlotte said simply, "Just in case. Technology has come so far, all I have to do is press this little button," she picked up her remote again, "and five hundred volts run through your body. Not enough to do serious damage but well, now you know how it feels."

"I think Alison gets the point, Charlotte," Mary said, helping Alison to her feet, "Come now, we're family. We don't need to hurt each other."

"I don't want to hurt anyone," Charlotte replied, "You know that, mommy."

Mary nodded, "Then why don't you come in here, honey? Give your mommy a hug?"

Charlotte's eye twitched, "Not yet," she whispered.

* * *

Mona watched the scenes unfold on the screens so kindly supplied in her room. At least she wasn't in a hole this time, she thought. Albeit her room was certainly not prepared with as much thought the apparent Dilaurentis house replica it was still a decent replica of her teenage room. She was surprised Charlotte had taken the time to pay attention to certain details, down to the wallpaper and colour scheme of the walls. The same dresser and wardrobe. She felt a rush of nostalgia at the books and dolls that sat on the old bookshelf in the corner. She knew it didn't mean Charlotte cared. She just liked it. She liked replicating rooms for her perfect dollhouse. It was something to entertain her psychopathic mind. It was an art form that Mona both feared and admired.

Mona wasn't fooling herself. Alison and Mary were safe. They were playing characters Charlotte had some sense of twisted love for. Mona knew she didn't matter to Charlotte. And that made her future completely uncertain.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4.

Alison sat on the edge of her bed, staring into space. She closed her eyes to block out the tense pacing her aunt was doing across the room. She thought about every time she'd visited Charlotte in Welby. About how she'd been so convinced she could help her sister recover and become the person she was meant to be. A good person. How Alison had hoped, just had she for herself, that there was some kind of redemption. Had any of it been real?

"Mary – "

"Alison, don't call me that," Mary stopped pacing, her eyes flicking to the camera in the corner of the room, "She's probably watching."

Alison looked at the camera too, scowling, "I'm not calling you mom."

Mary avoided the younger woman's eyes, "I know we never spoke about… "

"About how you killed my mother," Alison crossed her arms defensively, "No, we never did."

"It was her or me, Alison," Mary said quietly, "I was completely backed into a corner. I had no choice."

Alison sighed, "I know my mom was a… bitch, okay? I don't think anything surprises me about her anymore. I mean, she's the one that started all of this really. She taught all of us, including Charlotte, to keep secrets. To play with people," she paused, "but… she was still my mom."

"I understand," Mary said, "I don't expect you to ever forgive me."

"Well, you did go to prison for us. I mean, I know it was about Spencer – "

"It wasn't just about Spencer," Mary shook her head, "And I haven't exactly been in prison this whole time."

Alison frowned, "What do you mean?"

Mary closed her eyes for a moment, "You don't know."

"Know what?"

"After everything with Alex, I never went back. I mean, the police never came. Not really. It was Mona, it was all Mona," Mary explained, "She had us transported… to Paris. Just another dollhouse. That's where Charlotte found us."

Alison's eyes widened , "Oh my god," she blinked, trying to digest the new information, "Does Mona know that Charlotte's back? That she's in danger, that – "

"She already has Mona, Alison," Mary informed her, "I didn't see her. I just… heard the screams."

Alison flinched at the news before frowning, "Hang on, then where the hell is Alex?"

* * *

"Well, at least this time I gave you your own room."

The voice sounded through an intercom. Mona could see the smirk on the blonde's face through the glass.

"Yeah, you're real generous," she sniped back, determined not to show her fear, "The two way mirror's are a new touch too."

Charlotte tapped on the glass mockingly, "It opens up the communication, the flow of the whole place…"

Mona rolled her eyes, "Right. A place like this doesn't go up over night, you've been in town a while."

Charlotte shrugged, "Since I knew you were planning on getting Alison bought here. I figure Rosewood is a little passé at this point."

"And you're invisible here," Mona guessed.

"That definitely helps," Charlotte agreed.

"You need serious help," Mona said.

Charlotte rolled her eyes this time, "And you don't? I wonder what Alison will think when she realises you had half her family locked up in Paris."

Mona had been wondering the same thing, "She forgave you, didn't she?" she sounded more confident than she felt.

Charlotte chuckled, "That's different, I am family."

"Everybody has their limits, Charlotte," Mona warned.

"Sure," she agreed, "But that's one thing I love about Ali. She's just so… desperate to believe that people can change. She needs to believe it because if she doesn't… she's admitting that she can't change either. It does make her very easy to manipulate."

Mona moved closer to the glass, "You speak like a psychopath… but you're not. You fake feelings and you manipulate and you hurt people without guilt but I know there are things that make even you feel something. I've seen it."

"Don't try to play me, Mona. You won't win."

Mona was right up to the glass now, "You don't kidnap one mommy and get her to play other mommy if you don't give a shit about anyone. It's a twisted move but it comes from emotion. And you should know how dangerous that is."

Charlotte bit her tongue and swallowed hard.

Mona didn't miss the way Charlotte's jaw tensed, "Everybody's got a button, Charlotte. And yours is really easy. But answer me this, do you really think she ever cared about you as much as you cared for her? I mean, she was happy to just lock you up. Twice. Not exactly mother of the year."

Charlotte slammed her hand against the glass, "Another word, Mona I swear… "

"You'll what? You'll kill me?" Mona smirked, leaning closer, "You won't. Because I know something you don't know."

"I don't care – "

"Oh, trust me. You'll care," Mona smiled, "It's about mommy dearest. And your real father. You didn't really buy that guy Mary knew from college, did you?"


End file.
